By: Laura Walton AFC® Results are in. The five largest funds in the world are all passively managed, and four of them are managed by Vanguard, famous for its low-cost offerings. Almost one of every two dollars invested in a mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) over the past three years went into a Vanguard…
By: Laura Walton AFC® Good math skills + good behavioral choices = good financial outcomes…but we struggle with both. Statistics show that two-thirds of us are poorly prepared to make good financial decisions! The National Assessment of Educational Progress, aka the Nation’s Report Card, tells us that just 37% of American high school seniors were…
By: Laura Walton AFC® I was lucky. My brother and I, along with our cousins, spent much of our summers out of the Phoenix heat in a small community of 50 cabins seven miles outside of and a 1000 feet above Prescott. It was here I got my first lesson in personal finance. My grandmother…
By: Laura Walton AFC® Even when we identify something we’d like to change, it’s not often easy. After all, we’re likely replacing one habit with another. But, as with most challenges, there are tricks to succeeding. First, of course, you have to commit to something – your goal. The commitment is your rational choice –…
By: Laura Walton AFC® A successful life isn’t often the result of winning the lottery, being plucked out of obscurity by a talent scout or even being born into a wealthy family but rather it’s the result of doing the right things consistently over time. I tossed aside my idea for today’s blog when I…
By: Laura Walton AFC® Unfortunately, I’m not too surprised that 47% of Americans can’t come up with $400 in the case of an emergency. I am surprised, however, at what Neal Gabler revealed about his own financial decisions. Gabler’s article in the May issue of The Atlantic, The Secret Shame of Middle-Class Americans, is an excellent…
By: Laura Walton AFC® Maybe you’ve heard about the 5:2 Eating Plan? For two days of the week you eat just 500-600 calories while eating normally for the remaining five days. Bob Swift sent me an article by “Pete the Planner” on an interesting spending plan that sounds similar… Let’s start with the 5:2 Eating Plan. I’m…
By: Laura Walton AFC® “Homeownership’s Tax Benefits Fade” was the title of the Bloomberg article that appeared just a few days before my recent conversation with a couple about buying versus renting. The deduction for mortgage interest has long been seen as a primary motivation for homeownership. Homeowners can deduct from their gross income the…
By: Laura Walton AFC® Grab a friend, family member or co-worker and challenge them to this 30-question financial literacy quiz. Find the 30 questions at WalletHub’s WalletLiteracy Survey. It takes just a few minutes. Most respondents scored a B or B+. It’s not a slam dunk – I learned a thing or two – I’ll share…
By: Laura Walton AFC® It’s all what you get used to. Since 1973, our average house size has increased by 1000 square feet while the average household size has dropped from 3 to 2.5 persons. And how do our homes compare with those in other countries? Only Australia beats us – see the chart. The…